1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital TV system, and more particularly, to device and method for real time monitoring, and providing of useful program specific information (PSI) of a program received from a digital TV broadcasting system to a watcher.
2. Background of the Related Art
In general, the digital TV system can transmit a broadcasting signal for broadcasting a program expressed as an audio and a video, and, along with this, the PSI. The PSI provides watchers guide information on the program, for providing various services to the watcher conveniently.
The PSI is provided by using a PSIP (Program and System Information Protocol) which has a plurality of tables containing the PSI. The tables in the PSIP are a PMT (Program Map Table) containing program list information, an EIT (Event Information Table) containing various PSI on the programs, a VCT (Virtual Channel Table) containing channel information on the programs, an MGT (Master Guide Table) for checking updating and version of the tables in the PSIP.
Particularly, PSI services for providing services of parental rating and digital caption, e.g., DTV closed caption, or additional functions of the program, such as multiple audio service, can be known by a descriptor contained in the EIT and VCT. For an example, the parental rating can be known from a rating on a content advisory descriptor in the EIT. The digital caption service can be known by a value on the caption service descriptor in the EIT. The multiple audio services can be known by a value on a service location descriptor in the VCT.
In general, the PSI in the broadcasting programs has version changes as the occasion demands. When the PSI in the broadcasting programs has the version change in a related art, the descriptors of the EIT and VCT are parsed, for detecting the PSI change.
Moreover, in the related art, if a change an additional function of a particular program is required by the PSI service, the additional function change of the program is made without giving a prior notice to the user (watcher).
Furthermore, even if there is a change, or addition of the additional function of a particular program by the PSI service, there has been no suggestion for reflecting the fact of a change, or addition of the additional function to the program, and giving notice in advance, yet. Consequently, since the user can not know the additional functions the program supports presently in advance, there has been inconvenience of verifying the additional function the program supports presently one by one.
For an example, it is assumed that a program which supports additional functions shown on a table 1 below is broadcasted.
TABLE 1ProgramParental ratingDigital captionMultiple audioDramaOver 19 years oldNoKorean, EnglishMovieOver 15 years odeEnglish captionEnglish 1, English 2,Korean
It is assumed that the watcher ‘A’ sets a watch environment of a DTV set, such that the parental rating service is canceled (i.e., the parental rating function is turned off), “English caption” is set as the DTV caption service, and English is set as a language of the multiple audio service (a function for selecting a main voice language, and a supplementary voice language), and watches a drama as the present broadcasting program.
Then, since the drama is the program that no digital caption is supported, the watcher ‘A’ watches the drama in an English voice from the multiple audio service.
Then, a movie starts after the drama, when the watcher ‘A’ watches the movie reading English caption and hearing, not the English voice the watcher set, but the “English-1” set as default in the movie.
Consequently, the watcher ‘A’ can not but watch the movie without knowing in advance that if the present movie is a program having a parental rating, what languages the digital caption can support, and what languages are available from the multiple audio service.